by Jade Aubuchon, February 5, 2020, hometownstation.com
https://tinyurl.com/ua897jr
Over 500 people were arrested last week as part of an operation to combat human trafficking in Los Angeles County, officials said Wednesday.
At the close of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Sheriff Alex Villanueva of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced the results of the sixth annual Operation Reclaim and Rebuild enforcement operation.
The operation was conducted by the Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force and 70 participating federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and task forces from across California.
The weeklong, statewide effort aimed at combatting human trafficking took place between Jan. 6 and Feb.1, resulting in over 500 suspects arrested and 87 victims rescued, including 11 minors.
A press conference was held Tuesday at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles. Villanueva was joined by executives and representatives from dozens of law enforcement, social services and anti-trafficking organizations, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), California Highway Patrol (CHP), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) and Santa Clarita-based Zoe International.
Operation Reclaim and Rebuild focused on rescuing victims of sexual slavery and human trafficking, providing victims with much-needed services, identifying and arresting their captors, seeking successful prosecutions and disrupting the demand for vulnerable victims by targeting their customers.